Eastchester Middle School Bond: Building is "Insufficient, Outdated, and Limiting," Principal Says

In anticipation of the Oct. 12 Eastchester Middle School bond vote, Eastchester School District officials have released the following bond information and resources:

• Absentee Ballots
• Voter Registration for School District
• Voter Qualifications for School District
• Total Enrollment History
• Middle School Floor Plans
• Enrollment Projection Presentation
• FAQs on the Bond

Polling Locations will be the Middle School Gym (enter from Lincoln Ave) and 235 Garth Road (for Garth Road residents only). Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Below is a letter from Eastchester Middle School Principal Dr. Walter Moran, which is also available on the School District's website:

As I begin my twelfth year as principal of Eastchester Middle School, I would like to reference some things which I believe are exemplary and in which we can all take deserved pride:

• Our students
• Our faculty
• Our parents
• Our programs

In many ways our middle school is viewed as a model school. The configuration of teaching teams, our team leadership structure, and a master schedule which affords daily team planning as well as instructional team preparation time for teachers, make our middle school unique and ideally designed to support student learning.

Our current middle school building is not commensurate with the above exemplary qualities. It is an insufficient, outdated, and limiting facility for 21st Century Teaching and Learning.

When students have to carry a detailed chart indicating which school building (MS or HS), which classroom, on which day of the scheduling cycle, their English or Math teacher can be found for extra-help during lunch or after school, then we are not well serving the educational needs of that student.

When teachers are required to travel from classroom to classroom throughout the day, they are less able to prepare and execute lessons to the very best of their abilities. Valuable instructional and preparation time is lost in the movement of every such teacher from location to location.

One might argue that these are qualitative matters that have little bearing on quantifiable educational measures. In small cases and under unusual circumstances, I would agree. But when these concessions become the norm, the deterioration of programs and the slow erosion of progress have a very definite quantifiable impact, and it is not for the positive.

Making it work with current enrollments, state mandates, and the high expectations that we hold for ourselves and our students is akin to carrying a refrigerator on our backs every day.

Our students deserve better, and should expect far better.

Our architect has indicated that the capacity of Eastchester Middle School is 533 students. That was the number of students in our school when I began in September 2000. As of June 2011, our enrollment now exceeds capacity by 181 students. That number may grow this year, as we often add students in the beginning of the school year.

Here are some points to keep in mind as we begin the 2011-2012 school year:

• There are 30 sections of middle school students, yet we have only 25 academic classrooms to accommodate their learning.
• We teach three foreign languages (Spanish, Italian, and French) comprised of 18 class sections in two classrooms.
• We instruct 726 students in Art in one middle school classroom, and we share one high school classroom for one period a day in a location that is two wings removed from the middle school in the basement of the high school.
• We share one band and one chorus room with the high school along with the auditorium stage to rehearse middle and high school bands, orchestras, and choirs.
• We instruct 726 students in Health Education in one dedicated classroom and in one Social Studies classroom.
• Four of our 7th and 8th grade Social Studies and English teachers will share classrooms with one another this year.
• Grade 8 Spanish sections have reached enrollments of 30, 30, 29, and 28.
• Students on crutches must presently navigate the stairwells of the middle school to travel between the first and second floors.
• Our use of classroom space exceeds 8 periods per day in a 9 period schedule.
• Our 17 cafeteria tables (the limit to what we can fit in the room) would have to hold 14-15 students per table to accommodate our largest classes. These tables comfortably seat 8-10 students. Consequently, we split lunch periods and recess into 20 minute segments, providing students with only 20 minutes to eat lunch.

This bond provides for the basic necessities of a middle school program and will help us meet the challenges of maintaining excellent academic programs.

Please remember to vote on October 12th. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Sincerely,

Dr. Walter Moran

Middle School Principal